Sanghol residential academy to revamp football in Punjab: Lord Diljit

Deepankar Sharda 

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 7

If all goes well, Punjab will soon have a world class football academy at Sanghol village in Fatehgarh Sahib.

British politician Lord Diljit Rana has came up with a roadmap to build the academy at his native village with a hope to revive the sport in the region. To fulfill his dream, Lord Rana has already approached UEFA licensed coach Tommy Taylor who was in the city today to announce the commencement of a talent hunt championship from December 9 at Sanghol. The academy at Sanghol is already in shape and nearly 40 players have been inducted in the sub-junior category.

The management is eyeing to take young kids and nurture them for at least seven years before shifting the best of players to Southall United FC.

“We are setting up a world class academy in Sanghol. The kids will be taken care off completely. The Tribune had reported it earlier too. For achieving success in our aim, we are now organising a talent hunt championship. Around 42 different teams will participate in the competition,” he said.  

“Our scouting team will choose the talented players and we will nurture them to become professionals. We are eyeing to produce players for the nation and for the Southall United FC as well,” he added.

Meanwhile, Taylor who has been appointed in-charge of the academy and will look after the coaching programme for the kids, said there was no dearth of talent.

“Among billons of people, we are finding a handful to make them professionals. Football isn’t only about kicking the ball. It’s also about playing along with 10 other men and understanding them,” said Taylor.

“We are already having an Astroturf field in our academy. We are coming up with another 6x6 and 9x9 synthetic turf to make the players familiar with professional approach.”

When asked about the future of players, seven years down the line, Taylor said: “We are not leaving the players after seven years. We will try to keep them intact. They will be having a secure future. In terms of exposure, they will also be visiting various clubs in England under coaching exchange programmes.” Taylor, however, said he had a long way to go. “I have a long way to go, not only in terms of teaching football, but also in terms of overcoming language barriers and adjusting to the weather conditions.”

“The players selected will be given free education and training equipment throughout their stay. It’s an honour for me to work in Punjab, the region which has produced so many great players. The children here are well built and we will make them mentally strong to become professionals,” he said. He also emphasised the need to tap the talent at a young age. “The Indian U-17 team did well in the world cup. But why is it so difficult to find a bunch of 16 good players to play at the top level. The intentions of the authorities should be clear and players should be motivated from the right age,” Taylor said.